The Music Box
by Melara Yuhi
Summary: Duo decides to make heero a birthday preseant. He comes back from his next mission entirly too fatigued for his own good. Hours later, heero goes in to check on him, only to discover that he won't wake up... (complete! Twisted ending, beware!)
1. Default Chapter

to lazy to insert mindless babble….

Warning: Shounen ai… fluff…. Eventual character death… you know, the normal. Oh, and this shouldn't be very long either. Just a little ficcie to pass the time

Legal crap: *fends off cookie guzzling lawyers* No! Back! Back I say! I own no cookies! *lawyers leave* ?.? Wow… that's all I have to say to get them to go away? *grins* Good to know!

"Duo, be careful. You can always make it shorter if it's too long, but you can't add more to it once you've cut it off." Quatre watched as Duo carefully clipped the small, flat copper wire in his hand. The wire cutters were dull, and slipped easily as Duo tried to continue with his delicate operation.

"Ack! It's too short!" Duo sighed and threw the small wire on the ground.

"I warned you," Quatre said, shaking his head. "You have to test it for pitch each time you trim it." Duo picked up a longer piece of wire and cut off a piece of about the right length. "What are you doing now?"

"I'm going to screw this up again if I try to cut it with these crappy scissors. So…" Duo pulled out a lump of clay from under his work-table, then stuck the wire into it. "Hmmm" Duo began to hum, holding a steady note as he flicked the wire, carefully tapping it in farther or pulling it out until the tones matched perfectly.

Quatre simply laughed at this new approach. "Very creative, but how are you going to get it to keep it's pitch when you attach it to the wood?" Duo smiled, then pulled out a black felt-tip marker.

"You have to start thinking outside the box Q." He gingerly slid the nib around the copper, being careful not to move either the clay, or the wire. When he was finished, he pulled the wire from the clay, and held it in front of his face while giving Quatre a big grin. "Genius, isn't it?"

"Quit goofing off and do the rest of them." Quatre glanced at the staff Duo had created to help him make the music box. "Honestly, why did you have to pick such a complex song? You're only putting more work ahead of yourself." Duo put the piece of metal down, and slung his arm around Quatre.

"I know, but it's worth it for Hee-chan!" Quatre smiled, and picked up another strand of copper.

"Then hurry up and finish it. He could walk in any minute now."

"Q, you've been saying that for the past three hours. What are the chances that he'll come walking into _my_ room unannounced and discover what I've been working on for the past two weeks?" Duo then took the wire from Quatre and stuck it into the wad of clay, then began to 'tune' it as well.

After a few hours, Duo had finally gotten all of the notes he needed.

"Ahh!" Duo stood up and stretched, popping his back and arms in several places. "I thought I'd never finish!" Quatre laughed and pulled out a piece of paper.

"Well, it wouldn't have taken as long if you hadn't let the clay harden around the rest of our wire. Heero almost caught us when we came back from the store." Duo simply grunted at this. He didn't seem too pleased to be reminded.

"Now what do I do?" Quatre looked over the scraps of wood on the table until he found a few thin blocks.

"Now you attach the wires to the wood so we can mount it inside the base." Duo took two of the wooden scraps from Quatre, and slid the longest wire in between them. "Don't forget to check the pitch." Duo mumbled something under his breath, then flicked the wire.

"See? It's fine." Quatre laughed and handed Duo two nails to hold it in place. "I still don't see why I can't just use the drill. It would be a whole lot easier…" Duo then began to gently tap the first nail into the wood, just next to the copper wire.

"If you used the drill, you would change the sound. Just don't pound the nail in there and it should be fine." Duo continued to grumble until he brought the hammer down on his hand a little harder than he should have.

"Itai!!!"

"Well, if you had been tapping it lightly like I told you to, it wouldn't have hurt." Duo picked up another hammer and shoved it into Quatre's hands.

"Well, if you know so much, why don't _you_ make the next one?"

"No," The blond said simply, placing the hammer back on the table.

"No?"

"No. I'm not going to help you make this. It's your present to Heero, so you're going to make it for him. I'm only here to tell you how to do it." Duo glared at Quatre, then started to tap the nail into the wood again. "It was your idea. You were the one that made me promise not to help make it."

Duo continued this tedious process for the rest of the day, constantly grumbling at Quatre for 'making everything more difficult than it needed to be'. Of course, Quatre always laughed at this, and helped the braided youth get out of any problems he managed to find himself in.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

"Okay Heero. What are we doing here again?" Duo leaned over Heero, and looked over the controls of the MS they had stolen.

"This mission is relatively loosely planned. We need to find the room where they're building a new model of MS. Then we prevent them from finishing it." Heero flicked a few switches, then reached up to grab Duo's braid, which had been swinging in front of his face.

"Hey! Let go!" Heero pulled lightly on the chestnut rope, making Duo fall over on top of him. "Itai! That _hurts_! Leggo!" Duo wrapped his hands around the base of his braid, then tried to free it from Heero's grasp.

"Keep it out of my way." Heero let go of Duo's plaited hair, then prepared to land.

"Right… right…" Duo slid behind Heero's chair so he wouldn't be seen when they received an identity check. As if on cue, the screen lit up, and a woman with short cropped blond hair appeared.

"Pass code and identity number, please." Heero rattled off a few memorized numbers and words. The pilot they had stolen the MS from had worked here, and he was stupid enough to have his pass code and identity number written on a card in his pocket. "Oh good. I was wondering when you'd be back, Lance. Why don't you come see me when you've finished delivering the package? We can continue what we started before you left…" Heero stared at the girl on the screen, then forced his voice to sound somewhat cheerful.

"I'll do that." The woman grinned again, then opened the door to let them in.

"Great! See you in a bit!" Then she cut the transmission off. Duo waited a few seconds before he burst out laughing.

"That was unexpected, now wasn't it?" Heero grunted, then opened the cockpit to let himself out.

"We'll meet back here. Set your half, and don't get caught." Duo grumbled and sprinted off to the right.

'Oi… he acts as though I've never done this before… Oh well. We get this out of the way, then I can give him his birthday present!' Duo grinned at the thought. 'I wonder what he'll think of it….'

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

After the mission, and back at the house….

"Oi, Duo? Daijobu?" Duo lifted his head slightly off of the table, and willed his eyes to focus enough to see Heero sitting next to him. He felt the cobalt-blue eyed pilot's tennative arm wrap around his shoulders, trying to give him the comfort that he had been trained to do without. Duo smiled slightly, then let his head fall to the table once more.

"I'm just tired.. and hungry…" Quatre laughed at this last remark, then slid a sandwitch across the table.

"Eat up, my friend. Then get some rest." Duo forced himself upright in the chair, and picked up the small meal. Heero removed his arm from Duo's back, then shifted uneasily in his chair. Although they had just returned form a mission, it hadn't been strenuous enough to fatigue Duo so much, so what was wrong?

"Can't…" Duo's hands shook so violently after the first bite that he dropped the sandwich. "Too tired…" Heero stood up and put his hands on Duo's shoulders to keep him from falling over.

"I'll take him upstairs. He can eat when he wakes up." Heero gently slid an arm around Duo and helped him stand. Once on his feet, the braided youth had to put all of his weight on Heero just to keep standing. His head rested on his shoulder for he lacked the energy to hold it up. Heero bent his knees slightly, then scooped Duo up into his arms.

"Arigatō…" Duo's voice was barely above a whisper, but Heero heard him clearly. Quatre looked at Heero, puzzled.

"Do you think—"

"I don't know what to think," Heero interrupted. He looked down at the sleeping boy in his arms. Duo's breathing was slow and light. The quiet exhalations through his slightly parted lips could barely be detected. "We'll just have to wait until he gets up."

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

"How long has he been out?" Trowa sat down on the couch next to Quatre.

"About 15 hours now." Quatre sighed and let his head rest on Trowa's chest. Trowa nodded slightly, then looked up at Heero.

"I think that if he still needs rest, he can always go back to bed after he's eaten something." Heero was already halfway up the steps before Trowa could finish his sentence.

"I have a bad feeling about this…" Trowa wrapped his arms around the blond boy. He shivered, then looked up into deep emerald pools. "I really don't like this."

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Heero walked into Duo's room, carefully stepping over the various pieces of old electronics that hadn't yet been used to make some weird new invention with no apparent use.

"Duo, wake up." The figure on the bed didn't move at all. "Duo!" Heero sat down on the edge of the bed and gently shook the boy. Still no reaction.

Fear gripped the brown haired boy and he reached out to search for a pulse. Duo's heartbeat was alarmingly slow and weak, and very uneven.

"Oh my god…. Duo! Duo!" Quatre burst into the room at the perfect soldier's strangled cries.

"Heero, what's wrong?"

"Quatre… Get help…. He-he won't wake up…"

To be continued…..

I know… I'm evil, aren't I? *grins* oh well. There should only be one more chapter… maybe two…


	2. the second half

Mel: As promised, the second half…. Which is probably slightly longer than the first…

Tsuru: Oi….

Mel: Hey! I did it all in one night! Give me a break!

Tsuru: Just get on with it…

Mel: *sighs* fine…

Legal crap: No own Gundam. Sunrise do. Me pathetic.

Tsuru: O.o

Mel: ^_^()

Warnings: This is a very twisted story. Read at your own risk. Former warnings still aply…

Mel: And now, on with the torment!!! MWA HA HA HA!!!!!!

Heero sat in a metal chair, barely noticing how uncomfortable it was. Duo had been out for two full weeks now, and he had not left his side once. A number of times, he had tried to imagine that Duo was just asleep, too lazy to get up like he was told. And it almost worked… almost. The tube down his throat to keep him breathing and the various needles and patches stuck to him made that a little difficult. Not to mention the slow beep of the heart moniter.

Oh yes, they were having a fine time.

Heero stared at Duo and tried to figure out what had happened. No one just comes home one day and falls unconscious and into a coma for no reason. There must have been something wrong for quite some time now…. Duo was a master at acting.

Duo was the type of person that, when answering the question 'are you alright', would often say something like, "Hey! Couldn't be better! I mean, other than the slight problem that I can't feel a thing from my waist down, and my head feels like Heero just hit it full force, I'm fine!" Heero laughed quietly at that. It was funny, he could actually hear Duo saying that….

Of course, he would also be the first person to complain when he got a paper cut from filing reports that he didn't want to go anywhere near in the first place… he was a strange person…

"Heero?" The boy snapped his head up and glared at the person who had broken his train of thought. "I'm sorry. But I have something for you…" Quatre walked further into the room and took a seat next to Heero. "Happy Birthday…." He silently produced a small box wrapped in black paper with blue ribbon tied around it. "D-Duo made it for you. I figured he would want me to give it to you when it was time…." Heero took the package and spared Duo another glance before carefully untying the ribbon. It was funny, but for some reason he didn't want to tear the paper.

"What is it?" he was left with a small cherry-stained wooden box when he was finished. Quatre nodded towards the box, and Heero undid the silver clasp and lifted the hinged lid. Inside the lid was a small plaque with engraved letters. 

"Tabun umaku iku ze dakara umaku iku ze  
Chansu wa me no mae   
Daijoubu kitto OK!  
Tabun umaku iku ze dakara umaku iku ze  
Owari no nai yume no tame ni"

Things are sure to be ok now….

Kokoro kara, eien ni Aishiteiru

Afraid of what he would see, he looked into the box. There was a small silver and gold ring, and under it, a proposal.

"Heh, you would think I would be good at saying things out loud, but every time I practiced, I stuttered. So, I figured it would be safer to write this on paper. Will you stay with me forever so I can share my heart and soul with the one I love most?"

Heero set down the box on the table, stunned. He hadn't been able to process the information. He looked up to Quatre for help, but the blond boy looked just as stunned as he was…

"I'm sorry Heero… I didn't know he was going to… I thought he would… I-I'm sorry…" Quatre hung his head and turned to leave the room. Heero didn't stop him. If he wanted to leave, he was allowed to.

"I didn't know… I didn't know you felt that way…." Heero stared at Duo's still form. "I don't know if I can love you back the way you love me…" He looked down at the ring in his hand and sighed. It was time to get some air. His head was spinning, and he needed to sleep in something other than a cold chair for once. Without saying a word, he pocketed the box and left, not noticing Quatre's broken apologies on the way out.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Heero was sitting on the grass in the middle of a park. It was dark out, and most of the other people had left, leaving him alone to think. He pulled out the box and turned it about, listening to the ring clink inside. Something silver flashed in the dim light, and upon further examination, Heero found it to be a knob. He twisted it and heard the telltale sound of a windup toy.

"What on earth was that baka thinking?" he opened the lid again, and heard a soft, high-pitched song start to play. It was a music box. Heero listened to the song, and could hear Duo singing in the back of his mind….

"Tabun umaku iku ze… dakara umaku iku ze…Chansu wa me no mae…Daijoubu kitto OK! Tabun umaku iku ze… dakara umaku iku ze… Owari no nai yume no tame ni" Maybe it will turn out fine, Yeah, so I'm sure it will turn out fine. Your chance is right in front of you, It's fine, it's sure to be OK! Maybe it will turn out fine, Yeah, so I'm sure it will turn out fine… For the dream that never ends.

Duo would constantly sing that song for Heero when he was being 'too stuck on missions'. Duo had always teased him about how Heero was probably going to die from high blood pressure and stress because he never had any fun. Heero laughed again and laid down on the grass, listening to the music slow down, and eventually stop because in no longer had any power to it.

'Just like Duo….' Heero closed his eyes and fell asleep, thinking about his braided lover….

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

"Heero! Heero!!!" Quatre raced through the park, looking for him. He had heard that morning that a suspicious character had entered a drug store, then left without purchasing anything. Later, a boy who matched the description had been found sleeping in the middle of the park. He sat down hard on the grass when he found Heero. "Oh God, Heero. You're alright." Heero stirred slightly and looked up at Quatre.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing… nothing… I was just worried about you…" Quatre looked closer at Heero's eyes and noted that they were severely bloodshot. "Heero?"

"I'm fine….. Duo?" Heero hadn't moved anything but his eyes and mouth since Quatre got there.

"Heero, please tell me. Did you take anything from the drug store?" Heero nodded slightly, then looked up at Quatre.

"Duo… how is he?" He lifted a hand to his head and moaned slightly.

"Heero!" the boy closed his eyes and stopped breathing. "No! Heero!"

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

"He's dead… I'm sorry. There was nothing I could do." The doctor produced a small wooden box, and bottle of Advil and handed it to Quatre. "I found these in his pockets. The drugs were already circulating through his system when you brought him here. I'm sorry." Quatre stared at the box, unbelieving. "Here's my number. Go home and get some rest, then call me when you feel like it. I'll be glad to help you. Tell your friend to do the same." Quatre nodded numbly, then walked over to Trowa.

"H-he's dead…. Heero's dead…." Trowa stood up and wrapped his arms around the blond boy. They both stood there in silence, holding each other as they thought about the situation. It seemed to take forever, but finally Quatre said something. "What are we going to tell Duo?" 

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

__

~Two years later…~

Duo slowly felt his mind pull itself together. He felt like something was burning in his throat, and that someone was continuously punching him in the chest to keep him from breathing… and it hurt like hell. Duo began to cough, and clawed at his throat, knowing something was in there keeping him from breathing. He wanted it out, he wanted the burning to go away.

"Mr. Maxwell. Listen to me. I want you to breathe out as hard as you can on the count of three. Understand?" Duo nodded as he felt someone holding his arms down away from his throat. He didn't like the restraints, and began to struggle. "One…." The burning was horrible. It just kept getting worse. "Two…" He began to wonder if he was able to control whether he was breathing out or in. He certainly couldn't when he tried… "Three." Duo exhaled as hard as he could, and felt something pull out of his throat. He gagged as it came out, and continued his coughing fits. Once his breathing was under control again, he opened his eyes. Quatre had his hands on either side of Duo's face, and a large smile on his face while tears formed in his eyes.

"Welcome back to the land of the living…" Duo looked around slightly, then closed his eyes again. He was tired, and his head hurt like hell. "Duo?"

"Wh……where….. where am I?" Duo's voice came out quiet and scratchy, and it brought back the burning sensation.

"Shhhh. Don't talk. Drink this, then get some rest." Duo could hear muted voices in the room other than Quatre's, but he couldn't make sense out of it. He felt himself being lifted up slightly, then felt a glass be put to his lips. Duo greedily downed its contents, then was lowered back down to the bed. "I'll be here when you wake up." Duo felt his mind shut down again, and he was pulled into another deep slumber.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

"Trowa! He's awake! He finally woke up last night!" Quatre was still in the hospital, just outside Duo's room. He had been itching to tell his love the news since it happened, but only recently got the chance.

"He is? Amazing…" Quatre could sense the slight shock in the boys voice.
    
    "I'm glad I was here when he did. When do you think you can make it down here?"

"I don't think I can… not for another few days at least…"

"That's fine. I understand. I'm going to wait here for you, alright?"

"Alright…. So you'll call me—"

"…Quatre… Quatre, where are you?" Duo's soft voice came through the hall, and Quatre quickly hung up in surprise. "Quatre? Quatre! Where did you go!"

"I'm right here Duo. I promised I wouldn't leave." Duo breathed a sigh of relief as he felt Quatre's hands on his.

"I was afraid you left me here…." Duo turned his head slightly so he could look Quatre in the eyes. "What happened?"

"You've been asleep for a long time…." Quatre smiled at the braided boy. Even after two years, his eyes still held the same sparkle. "Duo, they found a brain tumor. That day you fell asleep at the table, you wouldn't wake up. Heero found you, and made sure you got here safely…." Quatre smiled sadly at the memory. It seemed so long since he had heard either of them talk… "They didn't think they got to you in time, and you slipped into a coma." Duo stared at Quatre in shock.

"H-how long… have I been asleep?" That was the question Quatre feared second most….

"A little over two years….."

"T-two _years!?!?!?!?!_" Duo tried to sit up, but was stopped by the many wires still attached to his body. "I've been in this bed for _two years!?!?!!?!??!_"

"Duo. Sit still. Please. You'll hurt yourself." Duo lifted an arm up and began to rip patches off of his bare chest.

"I can't. I have to get out of here. I have to see Heero… You did give him my present, didn't you?" Quatre closed his eyes and nodded.

"Duo, please. Sit still… Heero can wait….." Duo continued, this time pulling out an IV from his arm.

"No. I have to talk to him. I can't believe I've been out for two years! I have to talk to him… I have to—"

"He's dead." Duo froze at those two words. "He's dead, Duo. Heero's dead." Duo's eyes widened, and he looked down at the blood slowly seeping out of the puncture wound from the IV.

"Th-that's not right… it can't be…. He can't be…"

"He killed himself…. He was so sure you were going to die……." Duo looked up at Quatre, pain etched into his face.

"H-he _what?!?!_" Duo growled and continued his rampage on ripping the patches off. "THAT BASTARD DID WHAT?!?!?! THAT IDIOT!!!! WHAT THE HELL WAS HE THINKING!??!??!?!? HOW DARE HE!!!!!!"

"Duo! Please!" Quatre grabbed both of Duo's arms and held them by his sides. Duo went limp at the touch and slumped forward onto Quatre's chest.

"How dare he….. how dare he give up like that…." Quatre rubbed Duo's back lightly and waited for him to pull himself together.

"I kept something for you….." Quatre turned around and pulled a small box out of the drawer next to the bed. Duo glared at it as if it were poison, until Quatre opened it up.

"What's—"

"He left a note…." On the back of the proposal, Heero had written very small…

The darkness and the light unite

Beautiful fires cover the heavens

And the heavens is where I will meet you…

I love you….

I do.

"That baka yaro….." Duo sniffled slightly staring at the piece of paper. "He's gonna have to wait a while. I'm not gonna give up. I love that bastard, but I'm not gonna hurt you guys….." Quatre felt relieved by those words. He had feared Duo's actions at reading that since he first saw it.

"Duo?"

"I still have a life in front of me…. I was just hoping he could be a part of it…" A tear slid down his cheek, and he closed his eyes. "Can you leave me alone?" Quatre nodded and left the room.

'I'm sorry… I'm sorry my love. I was afraid… I didn't want you to leave me….' Heero watched silently as Duo played the music box. As he heard the cheerful song, he knew that nothing would be alright. He had lost the only one he had ever been able to feel for. And he had done it because he was scared. 'I'll wait for you, Duo. Come see me when the time is right…..

~Owari~

Mel: YAYNESS!!!! I FINISHED!!!!

Tsuru: O.O That was one hell of a twisted ending!

Mel: ^_^() I had fun?

Tsuru: O.O

Mel: But I hate it when people say my stories are obvious! I wanna twist things around so I surprise them!

Tsuru: O.O

Mel: *sighs* You guys liked it, right?


End file.
